June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Arcelor SA, after almost five months of fighting Mittal Steel Co., said it will hold a second round of talks with Lakshmi Mittal after the billionaire signaled he may be willing to pay more to complete the steel-industry's largest-ever acquisition.
Arcelor's shares rose as much as 2 percent to 34.36 euros and traded at 33.85 euros at 11:14 a.m. in Paris, cutting the difference between Mittal's improved offer and Arcelor's share price to its lowest ever. Mittal has ``no intention'' of improving its offer, it said in an e-mailed statement today.
Arcelor, led by Chief Executive Officer Guy Dolle, last month agreed to buy most of OAO Severstal, Russia's No. 3 steelmaker. Under the transaction, Luxembourg-based Arcelor valued itself at 44 euros a share and said it will buy back stock at that price. The deal would give Russia's Alexei Mordashov up to 38 percent of the company. Mittal is seeking to convince Arcelor's investors to accept his offer instead.
``Arcelor has said that there is price somewhere out there where a deal can be done,'' said Roger Nightingale, a strategist for Millennium Global Investments in London, which oversees $4.3 billion.
Mittal shares fell 1.4 percent to 23.90 euros in Amsterdam. The Rotterdam-based company's cash and stock offer values Arcelor at about 35 euros, or about 23.2 billion euros ($29.3 billion), based on Mittal's Amsterdam stock price. Mittal is offering Arcelor shareholders one share plus 11.10 euros in cash, and is giving them the option of receiving all cash or all stock up to certain limits.
`Very Compelling'
The offer is ``very compelling,'' Mittal said in a statement today. The 44-euro-a-share valuation under the Severstal agreement is ``entirely fictitious.''
Arcelor won't call a new meeting requested by some shareholders that would allow them to block the Severstal deal with a two-thirds majority. It would have given a ``fraction'' of them the ``right to eliminate'' it, Arcelor said today.
An investor meeting to be held June 30 will require at least 50 percent of the company's entire shareholder base to travel to Luxembourg or send a representative if they want to reject it, Arcelor said.
``We have the feeling Mittal hasn't had its last word,'' said Clemence Bounaix, an analyst at Richelieu Finance. ``The company has the capacity to increase its offer.'' Richelieu has Arcelor shares.
`Face-to-Face Talks'
The companies met for face-to-face talks on June 8, the first since Mittal announced its initial offer Jan. 27. The meeting may signal that Arcelor is softening its stance, billionaire Wilbur Ross, a director at Mittal, said in an interview June 9.
Mittal's offer closes July 5 to Arcelor shareholders in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Spain and the U.S. Mittal on May 19 sweetened the cash-and stock offer for Arcelor by 34 percent.
Mittal will pay almost $100 million in fees to bankers, auditors, lawyers and advisers to win Arcelor, according to a document filed on its Web site on May 18.
Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse Group, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc and Societe Generale are advising Mittal. Mittal is also being represented by New York-based law firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.
